


Embrace

by shadow_djinni



Series: All The Stars Aligned [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Spooning, The Mutual Pining Begins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 11:11:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12957963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow_djinni/pseuds/shadow_djinni
Summary: Sometimes, the solution is spooning.





	Embrace

**Author's Note:**

> ...Shameless, shameless fluff. I have no excuses.

Someone raps on Haxus’s door a varga into his off-shift.  Haxus isn’t expecting it--he’s on his bunk, figuring out an opening to a message back home that won’t alarm his parents when the knock comes, and he goes shock-still and looks at the door.  He’s hesitant to get up--it might be on one of his neighbor’s doors, and then he’d have made a fool of himself.  There’s silence.

He’s just turned his face back to his tablet when the knock repeats itself, more hesitantly this time.  It’s  _ definitely _ his door, and he can guess who’s knocking.  He turns off the tablet, shoves it under his pillow, and darts for the door, pressing his palm against the panel beside it.  The door hums open, and, sure enough, there’s Sendak, just beginning to turn away.

“Sendak?” Haxus says, and Sendak whips back toward him.

Haxus’s first thought is that Sendak looks...rough.  He’s disheveled, his expression pinched--fearful, really, his eye too wide, his teeth worrying his lower lip--barefoot and dressed only in underwear and a loose, sleeveless shirt, like he just got out of bed.  His ears, already lowered, droop further, and he only meets Haxus’s gaze for a tick or two before lowering it to the floor.

“I--I’m sorry,” Sendak says quietly.  “I didn’t mean to disturb you, I...I’ll just…”  The tips of his ears blush vibrantly blue

Haxus steps aside.  “You didn’t disturb me.  Please, come in.”

Sendak hesitates a tick or two, and Haxus is afraid he’ll turn around and go anyway.  Then he steps in, cautious, ears flattened.  One hand grips the opposite forearm.  Haxus can see Sendak’s claws flexing, not quite enough to break skin, and he very gently rests his hand on Sendak’s shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asks.  It’s the middle of Sendak’s off-shift--his and Haxus’s overlap enough that they have downtime together--but Sendak’s usually asleep at this point in the quintant.  Unless…  “Sendak?”

“...I’m fine,” Sendak mumbles.  “Just...wanted to see you, that’s all.”  His body language tells a different story.  He won’t even look up, and as Haxus watches, his claws sink into his forearm.

That’s about all of  _ that _ Haxus can handle.  “Hey,” he says gently, then reaches up and cups Sendak’s cheek.  Sendak turns his gaze to Haxus, and his lower lip quivers infinitesimally.  “Hey, come here.  Let’s go sit down, okay?”

Sendak nods, and Haxus wraps his arm around his shoulder and leads them back over to his bunk.  Haxus climbs in immediately, but Sendak takes a little prompting--there’s something not-quite-there about his expression, like he doesn’t know where he is or what he’s supposed to be doing.  Haxus squeezes his shoulder comfortingly, then removes Sendak’s hand from his forearm and ducks his head.  Sendak hisses a sharp, startled breath as Haxus runs his tongue over the cuts, cleaning the blood away.  He doesn’t pull away, though, and he collapses on Haxus’s shoulder as soon as the cuts are cleaned to Haxus’s satisfaction.  He sniffles quietly.  Haxus wraps his arm around his upper back.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“...No,” Sendak says, so quiet Haxus almost doesn’t hear him.

“Having trouble sleeping?” he asks.

Sendak nods against his shoulder.

“Can’t get to sleep, or nightmares?”

Sendak leans more emphatically against Haxus, digging his crest into Haxus’s upper arm, and that’s as clear an answer as anything.  Sendak’s no good with words, and he’s even worse with them when he’s distressed.  Haxus rubs small circles on his side, and Sendak settles closer.  Haxus won’t push him any further.  Instead he turns and pulls Sendak fully against him, rests his cheek on top of Sendak’s head.  Sendak’s breath hitches.  Then he wraps his arms around Haxus’s chest and makes the quiet hiccuping sound Haxus knows is a prelude to a sob.  Haxus runs his fingers through Sendak’s ruff, gently, gently, he doesn’t want to scare him off.

“It’s alright,” he murmurs, nuzzling the crown of Sendak’s head.  “It’s alright.  You’re safe here, I’ve got you, you’re safe.”

Sendak’s grip tightens almost painfully, and he presses closer.  Haxus sighs and leans backwards, pulling Sendak down on top of him.  Sendak yelps, clearly startled.  His claws dig into Haxus’s skin.  Haxus clenches Sendak’s fur in his hands, then reaches up to rub the bases of his ears.  Sendak purrs quietly, nestles his head directly over Haxus’s heart, and slowly begins to relax.

“There we go,” Haxus says.  “Better?”

“...Yes,” Sendak mumbles.

“Do you want to talk about it, or will talking make it worse?”

Sendak hesitates.  “You want me here, right?” he asks.  “You’re not just putting up with me being a pathetic coward?”

“You’re not a coward,” Haxus says, gently correcting him.  “And, yes, I want you here.  I like having you around.”  He likes it a lot more than he’s going to say.

“People who aren’t cowards don’t go running to their friends whenever they have a stupid nightmare,” Sendak says, but he doesn’t pull away.

“You know you’re allowed to seek comfort without it being cowardice, right?”  Sendak goes still, and Haxus’s throat tightens.  “Oh, Sendak…”

“Don’t pity me,” Sendak mumbles.

“This isn’t pity, it’s--” he pauses, considers his words.  “I’m worried about you.”  

Sendak sighs into Haxus’s chest.  “You shouldn’t be worried.  I’m fine, I’m just...tired.”

“You could sleep in here with me, if it helps,” Haxus suggests, sounding much calmer than he feels.

Sendak lifts his head and stares at him incredulously.  “Just in the room with you or in the  _ bunk _ with you?”

“Whichever you’re more comfortable with.”

Sendak hesitates, then sits upright.  His ears tilt to one side.  His brow creases.  “Could I sleep in the bunk with you?” he asks.  “I...I feel safe with you next to me.”

“Of course,” Haxus says, propping himself up on his elbows.  

They study each other for a long moment.  There’s a negotiation coming, if either of them is going to get to sleep.  Sendak breaks eye contact first, ducking his head.  His lowered ears can’t hide his blush.  Haxus chuffs fondly and reaches out, cups Sendak’s cheek affectionately.  Sendak leans into the touch.

“So, how do we want to do this?” Haxus asks.  “Sharing bunks is easier if we spoon.”  It’s not impossible to sleep other ways, but the narrowness of the bunk makes spooning the most comfortable option.  He knows  _ that _ from experience.

Sendak flinches ever so slightly, wrapping one of his arms around his stomach.  His ears lower further.  “...Could you be the big spoon?” he asks.  “I won’t be comfortable with you--I mean--”  He punches the mattress, visibly frustrated.  “I don’t like people touching my stomach.”

Haxus eyes Sendak thoughtfully.  He’s never been the big spoon before, not even with similarly-sized partners.  Spooning  _ Sendak _ , who stands head and shoulders taller than him, is going to be interesting.  “I could be the big spoon,” he says.  “You lay down and get comfortable.  I’ll get the lights.”

Haxus climbs out of the bunk and turns out the lights, and by the time he gets back to the bunk, Sendak has already settled himself.  Haxus runs his hands lightly over Sendak’s body, getting a feel for where he is and how he’s lying so he doesn’t accidentally crush a foot or a hand when he climbs in.  Sendak is curled on his side, knees up close to his chest.  He can’t locate one arm and assumes it’s tucked into the space between Sendak’s torso and his leg; the other arm is across his legs, the hand hanging down over his shin.

With a grunt, Haxus hauls himself into the bunk and lies down behind Sendak, attempting to curl around him.  Sendak huffs with laughter, and Haxus elbows him below the shoulder blade before cuddling up.  Their hips fit together easily enough.  Sendak’s rear presses at the top of his thighs, and he’s tall enough that Haxus’s head rests at the base of his neck.  Haxus slings his arm across Sendak, his hand resting on Sendak’s legs, and presses his face against the other’s back.  Sendak smells nice: musky, faintly piney, and a little like dirt-road dust.  The thick, fluffy fur of his outer coat tickles his nose a little, but Haxus ignores it to cuddle closer, pressing his entire body against Sendak’s back.

Sendak hums quietly and tilts his head to try and look at Haxus.  “Thank you,” he murmurs.

Haxus squeezes his knee gently.  “You’re welcome.”  He purrs comfortingly and nuzzles Sendak’s shoulder.

Sendak drifts off first, his whole body rumbling with quiet, contented purrs.  Haxus stays awake longer, listening to his bedmate’s breathing.  He almost doesn’t  _ want _ to sleep, not while he has Sendak in his arms.  He wants to stay up, to watch Sendak, to not miss a single tick.

He dozes off with the scent of pine and musk in his nose.


End file.
